He was hired as artistic director at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 1975, where he spent six seasons directing many productions and cultivating new talent. Such actors as Maggie Smith, Richard Monette, Martha Henry, and Brian Bedford, among others, were prominently featured during his tenure, and many of his Shakespearean, classical, and contemporary productions won widespread acclaim.[2][3][4] When he resigned from Stratford during the 1980 season, exhaustion was cited as the primary reason for his departure.[5] He would later become artistic director at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario and return to Stratford to direct the Young Company in 1987–88. He was also director general at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton from 1990–95.